I have been working as an all around graphics geek or “Visual Information Specialist” for the past 17 years around the Washington DC Metro area. With my career spanning across almost every aspect of the design industry, I have worked from web design, to 3d animation, to logo design, to photo retouching.

Learn to use the smudge brush along with several other photo manipulation techniques to create an easy painted pet portrait in Photoshop. This tutorial is one part of a larger set of instructions for the course: Creative Photo Effects in Adobe Photoshop.

Learn to use the smudge brush along with several other photo manipulation techniques to create an easy painted pet portrait in Photoshop. This tutorial is one part of a larger set of instructions for the course: Creative Photo Effects in Adobe Photoshop.Read More…

Smoke trails are elegant, beautiful, and amazing to watch. Thin wisps of smoke dancing through the air reveal just how fluid our atmosphere really is. The effect is deceptively simple, and the dynamics of it are dizzyingly complex. Recreating believable smoke in a digital environment is no easy task. However, capturing the practical effect is a much easier prospect. In this quick tip, I'll share a technique that I use to create stunningly beautiful custom smoke brushes in Photoshop.

Smoke trails are elegant, beautiful, and amazing to watch. Thin wisps of smoke dancing through the air reveal just how fluid our atmosphere really is. The effect is deceptively simple, and the dynamics of it are dizzyingly complex. Recreating believable smoke in a digital environment is no easy task. However, capturing the practical effect is a much easier prospect. In this quick tip, I'll share a technique that I use to create stunningly beautiful custom smoke brushes in Photoshop.Read More…

Coffee rings are a special type of grunge effect that tends to turn accidents into elements. The fluid nature of the effect makes it difficult to reproduce digitally in a realistic manner. Fortunately, they are really easy to create practically, almost unavoidable even! Find out how to create, capture, digitize and use your very own Coffee Ring brushes!

Coffee rings are a special type of grunge effect that tends to turn accidents into elements. The fluid nature of the effect makes it difficult to reproduce digitally in a realistic manner. Fortunately, they are really easy to create practically, almost unavoidable even! Find out how to create, capture, digitize and use your very own Coffee Ring brushes!Read More…

Fall is the season in which even the most unassuming settings can take on an air of creepiness. It doesn't help when the setting starts out as rather terrifying, and just gets worse! Start with a forest setting on a foggy night, add in an abandoned old house, mix well with spooky lighting effects, then season with a few surprises hidden in the dark. That's how we add an atmosphere of terror and dread to this quaint little cottage in the woods!

Fall is the season in which even the most unassuming settings can take on an air of creepiness. It doesn't help when the setting starts out as rather terrifying, and just gets worse! Start with a forest setting on a foggy night, add in an abandoned old house, mix well with spooky lighting effects, then season with a few surprises hidden in the dark. That's how we add an atmosphere of terror and dread to this quaint little cottage in the woods!Read More…

This tutorial will teach you how to create a cracked and exploding planet. All super villains wish for a weapon capable of destroying a planet. We have one too: we call it Photoshop! We will start with a perfectly good planet and smash it like an egg! Or at least an egg that is floating in space and has an explosion of energy within it.

This tutorial will teach you how to create a cracked and exploding planet. All super villains wish for a weapon capable of destroying a planet. We have one too: we call it Photoshop! We will start with a perfectly good planet and smash it like an egg! Or at least an egg that is floating in space and has an explosion of energy within it.Read More…